Oxford Art Online

Asian Contemporary Art Update, September 2005

This season Grove Art Online is pleased to present new material devoted to Asian contemporary art—a rapidly
growing area of study, exhibition, and interest. The recent
addition of this subject to art history curricula internationally,
an exploding number of biennials held in the Asia Pacific, and the
ever-increasing number of publications and exhibitions focused on
Asian contemporary art signal the rising impact of Asia on the art
world.

The Asian
contemporary art update serves as a pathway into a rich and diverse
facet of contemporary art practice today. It includes contributions
from over 20 international scholars, nearly 200 art images, and
covers art from nine countries—China, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Anchoring the
update are seven thematic essays including Asian Contemporary Women
Artists, Transculturalism in Asian Diasporic Art, and Exhibitions
of Contemporary Asian Art in the West. It also offers over 50
biographies of significant artists such as Montien Boonma, Anita
Dube, Cai Guo-Qiang, Yoko Ono, Yoshitomo Nara, Suh Do-Ho, and Zhang
Huan. In addition, it features an introduction to Asian contemporary art, an
interview with artist Wang Qingsong,
and a directory of alternative spaces in
Asia, all freely available to Grove Art Online visitors.

This new scholarship complements our superb coverage of Asian art and culture—over 2,600 articles encompassing ancient and contemporary topics, regions and countries, styles and periods, art forms, artists, patrons, materials and techniques, archaeological sites, museums and historiography. A list of these articles may be viewed by navigating from the Grove Art Online option in the browse All Content feature. Grove Art Online also provides more than 500 images of major artworks from Asia, listed on browse Images feature.

We are delighted that Melissa Chiu, Director of the
Asia Society Museum, New York, served as guest editor for this
update. The Asia Society is at the forefront of promoting Asian
contemporary art throughout the world. We thank the artists,
scholars, galleries, and museums for their invaluable contributions
of new scholarship and images. Special thanks also to the Asia Society, ARTNews, and the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong for
sharing the information about this update with their readers. Grove
Art Online's ongoing editorial programme broadens existing areas of
coverage and encourages the exploration of multicultural and
international subjects in the fields of art history and related
disciplines. We hope you enjoy it!